Raiders-Chargers Preview

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• Countdown Daily Recap: Raiders-Chargers

SCOUTING REPORT

Raiders-Chargers: 10 observations After breaking down film of both teams, Scouts Inc. offers 10 things to watch in this week's Raiders-Chargers matchup. 1. Oakland needs to develop an identity: The Raiders can't decide if they want to be a running team or a passing team. One week they run the ball, the next week they come out throwing and end up throwing to the wrong colored jerseys too often. Defensively they play aggressively one week and tentatively the next. There is no question that their strength lies in their running backs and the ground game. They need to develop a controlled passing attack that plays off the play-action fake.

· Full Scouting Report

Matchup
	W-L	PF	PA	HOME	ROAD	DIV	CONF
OAK	3-7	108	234	2-4	1-3	1-4	2-6
SDG	7-3	269	205	3-2	4-1	4-1	5-3
· Complete Standings

Individual Leaders

Oakland Passing   CMP% YDS TD INT Russel... 46.8 1064 2 9 Gradko... 53.1 346 2 3

San Diego Passing   CMP% YDS TD INT Rivers 63.2 2621 17 6

Oakland Rushing   CAR YDS AVG TD Bush 81 377 4.7 2 Fargas 90 336 3.7 2

San Diego Rushing   CAR YDS AVG TD Tomlin... 135 458 3.4 6 Sprole... 60 210 3.5 1

Oakland Receiving   REC YDS AVG TD Miller 34 495 14.6 2 Murphy 17 261 15.4 2

San Diego Receiving   REC YDS AVG TD Jackso... 47 788 16.8 7 Gates 52 709 13.6 2

Full Player Stats: Oakland | San Diego

TEAM AVERAGES & NFL RANKS
TEAM OFFENSE	TEAM	PER GAME AVERAGE
Total Yards	OAK	227.0
	SDG	336.0
Yards Passing	OAK	125.0
	SDG	248.3
Yards Rushing	OAK	102.3
	SDG	87.9
TEAM DEFENSE	TEAM	PER GAME AVERAGE
Yards Allowed	OAK	365.2
	SDG	321.1
Pass Yds Allowed	OAK	207.5
	SDG	202.6
Rush Yds Allowed	OAK	157.7
	SDG	118.5

HEAD TO HEAD MATCHUPS (SINCE 2001)
San Diego leads 14-4
Sep 14, 2009	OAK 20, @SDG 24
Dec 4, 2008	OAK 7, SDG 34
Sep 28, 2008	OAK 18, @SDG 28
Dec 30, 2007	OAK 17, @SDG 30
Oct 14, 2007	OAK 14, SDG 28
Nov 26, 2006	OAK 14, SDG 21
Sep 11, 2006	OAK 0, @SDG 27
Dec 4, 2005	OAK 10, SDG 34
Oct 16, 2005	OAK 14, @SDG 27
Nov 21, 2004	OAK 17, @SDG 23
Oct 31, 2004	OAK 14, SDG 42
Dec 28, 2003	OAK 14, SDG 21
Sep 28, 2003	OAK 34, @SDG 31
Dec 8, 2002	OAK 27, SDG 7
Oct 20, 2002	OAK 21, @SDG 27
Dec 15, 2001	OAK 13, SDG 6
Nov 18, 2001	OAK 34, @SDG 24

The San Diego Chargers barely escaped with a win against the Oakland Raiders earlier this season. They didn't need any late-game heroics in their last contest.

Coming off perhaps their most dominant effort of the season, the Chargers look to win their 13th straight over the Raiders as the AFC West rivals meet Sunday.

San Diego (3-3) hasn't lost to Oakland (2-5) since a 34-31 road defeat Sept. 28, 2003, averaging 28.2 points during the run. The win streak, however, was in danger of ending before Darren Sproles scored the winning touchdown on a 5-yard run with 18 seconds left in a season-opening 24-20 victory Sept. 14.

San Diego lost three of its next four during a stretch against tough opponents, but bounced back with a 37-7 win at Kansas City last Sunday. Coach Norv Turner and quarterback Philip Rivers said it was the team's most complete game of the season.

"Individuals have to keep getting better and we have to collectively keep getting better as we zero in on what we have to do to prepare and play well against the Raiders," Turner told the Chargers' official Web site.

Rivers threw three touchdown passes last week, giving him seven in his last three games.

Against the Raiders, he answered a pair of go-ahead Oakland scores with a TD drive each time.

LaDainian Tomlinson rolled his ankle in that game, causing him to miss the next two. Tomlinson and San Diego's running game have struggled this season, as he rushed for a season-high 71 yards versus the Chiefs.

Tomlinson's 36-yard run on the Chargers' first touchdown drive was his longest since a 45-yarder against Denver on Dec. 28. The Chargers had 135 rushing yards after averaging 57.6 in their first five contests.

Despite their struggles on the ground, San Diego has had little trouble scoring this season, averaging 26.8 points. The Chargers' defense, however, had given up an average of 27.2 points before holding the Chiefs to 203 yards.

Oakland has been terrible offensively of late. The Raiders lost 38-0 at home to the New York Jets last Sunday and have been held to less than eight points in four of their last five games.

JaMarcus Russell fumbled to set up a Jets score and threw two interceptions before being pulled in favor of Bruce Gradkowski.

Russell finished 6 of 11 for 61 yards as Oakland was shut out for the first time since a 24-0 loss to Atlanta last Nov. 2. Coach Tom Cable, though, said Russell will remain the starter.

"Hopefully it will fire him up so then it doesn't happen again, that he'll work that much harder and really put in all the effort that he can to make sure that doesn't happen again," Oakland tight end Zach Miller said. "Any competitor should want that to never happen. I would never want to be benched. I don't think he would either."

One of Russell's two TD passes this season came against San Diego, a 57-yard throw to rookie Louis Murphy to give Oakland a 20-17 lead with 2:34 left.

Russell, the No. 1 overall pick in 2007, has regressed after showing some positive signs late last season. He has completed 46.3 percent of his passes while throwing eight interceptions and losing five fumbles. His 47.2 passer rating is ahead of only Cleveland's Derek Anderson.

"It's just something that you have to have a little bit better control," Cable said. "It's not something that you like to do, in terms of pulling him and all that. I've been pretty strong against it. I want to push him to give him every opportunity to succeed."

Chargers' Cromartie under police investigation

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FBO: Week 11 Quick Reads

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Bengals' fumble hands Raiders last-second win

Bruce Gradkowski threw a 29-yard tying touchdown pass to Louis Murphy with 33 seconds left and Sebastian Janikowski kicked a 33-yard field goal after Andre Caldwell fumbled the ensuing kickoff, giving the Raiders a 20-17 victory Sunday.

Raiders -- yes, Raiders -- upbeat this summer

Things have been relatively quiet for the Raiders this offseason. Sure, there were those pesky photos of a blinged-out JaMarcus Russell, whose work ethic has been in question, posing in what appeared to be a club with an unlit cigar in his mouth and a drink in hand.

Sharing stadium not such bad idea

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Raiders are easy targets

It's tantamount to a declaration of war on the sovereign Raider Nation. John Tayman's Bang! Cartoons levels both barrels at Al Davis , JaMarcus Russell , Darrius Heyward-Bey and Tom Cable.

Long past their glory days, Raiders seeking winning recipe

Once upon a time, the Oakland Raiders staked their claim as one of the more successful franchises in NFL history.

Cable shoots down Burgess talks

Raiders coach Tom Cable was a guest on Chronicle Live on Wednesday night, talking about the goal of OTAs, the development of JaMarcus Russell, etc.

AFC West: Stability keeps Chargers out of turmoil below

There is a major New England Patriots influence in this division. Denver fired long-time head coach Mike Shanahan and replaced him with 32-year-old Josh McDaniels, who spent eight years with the Patriots including the last three as offensive coordinator.

Chargers' Merriman working his way back

A tag cloud is a visual list of key terms associated with a piece of content. Larger and bolder tags are more relevant to the content.

Stadium developer unveils proposal, but Chargers balk

" Local developer Perry Dealy unveiled his proposal to replace Qualcomm Stadium in Mission Valley Thursday, a day after the San Diego Chargers called his plans unrealistic in a fax sent directly to him.

Majestic Realty terminates negotiations with Walnut over proposed NFL stadium

Majestic Realty has terminated negotiations with Walnut over a proposed NFL stadium, saying city officials requested a "wish list of tens of millions of dollars" that had little to do with the project.

Versatility remains Bingham's specialty

Ryon Bingham is a contender for Igor Olshansky's starting spot at defensive end.